Issued by: Sabah Sarawak Rights – Australia New Zealand (SSRANZ) & Borneo Plight in Malaysia Foundation BOPIMAFO (Date: 7 November 2025)
Sabah Sarawak Rights – Australia New Zealand (SSRANZ) and Borneo Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BOPIMAFO) express full support for the organisers and participants of the “Sarawak Petroleum, Oil & Gas” Press Conference at the Borneo Cultures Museum on 9 November 2025. This event marks a pivotal moment in the long struggle for Sarawak’s oil and gas sovereignty and for justice after decades of exploitation entrenched by the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA74).

PDA74 – A TOOL OF ECONOMIC PLUNDER
The control of Sarawak’s and Sabah’s oil and gas resources was never an agreed term of the MA63 treaty. In fact, the then-Malayan government deliberately avoided addressing this issue after Brunei’s open rejection of Malaya’s attempts to take full control of Brunei’s petroleum resources, which ultimately led Brunei to refuse to sign MA63. The enactment of the PDA74 therefore violated the fundamental terms and intent of both MA63 and the Malaysian Federation itself.

The PDA74 was enacted without the consent of Sarawak or Sabah, in direct violation of Article 161E(2)(a) of the Federal Constitution, Article VIII of MA63, and the Oil Mining Ordinance 1958 (OMO). By unlawfully vesting ownership of all petroleum in PETRONAS, the Act stripped both states of their wealth and empowered the federal centre at the expense of the resource-producing territories — a textbook case of post-colonial resource plunder.
While this conference rightly focuses on Sarawak’s oil and gas rights, SSRANZ emphasises that Sabah’s parallel denial of its revenue and resource entitlements reflects the same entrenched federal exploitation. The struggles of both states arise from the same unlawful foundation — the PDA74 and the void Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) — which together have institutionalised economic subjugation and political inequality since 1963.

This injustice forms part of a broader pattern of rights violations that began in 1974, the same year Sabah’s 40% revenue entitlement was abruptly terminated. Half a century later, despite the Sabah High Court’s ruling affirming this right, Putrajaya continues to delay compliance, citing administrative excuses. Reports that the Prime Minister may “review” the court’s decision raise a grave constitutional question — when was the Prime Minister given judicial powers? Such defiance of court orders underscores the deep erosion of federalism and the rule of law.

VOID FOUNDATION — VOID LAW
SSRANZ and BOPIMAFO reiterate that Malaysia’s formation was not an act of decolonisation but a colonial transfer of two non-self-governing territories — North Borneo (Sabah) and Sarawak — to Malaya.
Article IV of MA63 authorised Britain “to relinquish sovereignty and jurisdiction to the Federation of Malaya,” confirming that it was annexation, not a union of equals. This breached UN Resolutions 1514 and 1541, which require a genuine act of self-determination prior to any integration.
As no such act occurred, Malaysia’s legal foundation is void ab initio under international law. Consequently, all derivative laws — including the PDA74 — lack constitutional validity.

If MA63 was void, Malaysia’s sovereignty over Sarawak and Sabah is void; and if that sovereignty is void, the PDA74 is an unlawful act of economic occupation.

VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
The PDA74 contravenes UN Resolution 1803 (XVII) on Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources, which affirms every people’s right to control and benefit from their natural wealth. Malaysia’s continuing seizure of Sarawak’s and Sabah’s oil and gas is a standing violation of that right and of the principles of federal equality.
Moreover, by disregarding Sarawak’s territorial boundaries defined in the Sarawak (Alteration of Boundaries) Order in Council 1954 and the OMO 1958, the Federal Government has unlawfully appropriated Sarawak’s continental shelf and maritime resources — a breach that undermines both Malaysia’s federal integrity and international standing.

THE WAY FORWARD
SSRANZ and BOPIMAFO call upon all Sarawakians to unite behind these lawful and moral demands:
1. Immediate repeal of the PDA74;
2. Restitution and compensation for petroleum revenues unlawfully expropriated since 1974;
3. Recognition of Sarawak’s sovereign rights over its onshore and offshore resources; and
4. An international review of MA63 before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to commence a proper decolonisation process under UN supervision.
SSRANZ and BOPIMAFO also reaffirm that Sabah’s struggle for the restoration of its 40% revenue entitlement and control over its natural wealth forms an inseparable part of the same broader movement for justice, equality, and self-determination.
CONCLUSION
Sarawak’s oil and gas struggle is inseparable from its larger fight for self-determination. Half a century of constitutional deception has proven that genuine autonomy cannot exist within an illegal federation built on colonial transfer and economic subjugation.
SSRANZ and BOPIMAFO reaffirm their unwavering support for the people of Sarawak — and in solidarity with the people of Sabah — in their lawful, peaceful pursuit of independence and full sovereignty over their resources and future.
Sabah Sarawak Rights – Australia New Zealand (SSRANZ)
Borneo Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BOPIMAFO)